TI Completes Property, Plant Equipment Improvements, Unveils LEAN Manufacturing
Austin, TX – February 28, 2012 – Renowned touch screen manufacturer, Touch International, announced today the completion of property improvements to its Austin, Texas factory clean room which produces prototype and specialty components for military, medical and aerospace displays. The renovation concludes the second phase of the company’s $10 million global development effort which began last year with the opening of its 50,000 ft² STAR manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China.
Watch short clean room video:
The Austin renovation gives the company four times more clean room space to accommodate the increased market demand for specialty-type projected capacitive and resistive touch screen displays.
“As the market shifted away from the Palm Pilot to the Apple iPhone technology, many of our military, medical and aerospace customers have followed suit – this has required a paradigm shift in the science of touch screen manufacturing,” explains Michael Woolstrum, Touch International CEO. “By renovating our Austin facility and building a vertically integrated factory in Shenzhen, China, Touch International is able to better support this technology shift and accommodate for current and future market demands.”
With property and plant improvements now complete, the company has contracted with Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) to maximize efficiency by further implementing LEAN manufacturing principles into the organization.
“Touch International has used a variety of LEAN tools to identify substantial improvement opportunities,” comments Carson Miller, TMAC project manager. “While keeping a sharp focus on customer needs, these efforts will yield a dramatic reduction in lead time, improved product quality and improved operational effectiveness.”
Once adopted in Austin, these LEAN business concepts will be rolled out to its STAR facility to better support market needs by reducing scrap, increasing yields, and ultimately saving customers money.
See more TI clean room pictures here.
About Touch International
Touch International, headquartered in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2002 by Michael Woolstrum and long-time veteran, Gary Barrett, the company’s CTO. TI has become a world leader in touchscreen, EMI filter, and enhanced display technology. The company operates its engineering and design facility and corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas as well as a high volume production facility is located in Shenzhen, China.
